Night's Penumbra
by Melissa Brooks
Summary: Bella's life is controlled by her obsessive compulsion to avoid making decisions. Her live changes when she meets the mysterious new family in town. Possible pairings: Jacob and Leah; Edward and Bella
1. Chapter 1

Night's Penumbra

_Author's note: This is my first fan fiction for Twilight. All the characters represented in this story belong to Stephanie Meyers. I hope you enjoy and please review. _ _This story is written in Bella's point of view._

It was Monday morning and I jolted awake to that dam alarm. God, there was nothing I hated worse than Mondays. I looked out my window as the rain came pelting down. Great what did I expect? Of course it had to be raining. Rain was the most exciting thing to ever happen in Forks. I had lived here with my dad Charlie since I was five years old.

I went to my closet and grabbed the first shirt and pants that was hung up in my closet. I always picked out my close that I was to wear from left to right. The weather would not deter me from maintaining my schedule. I didn't care that it was thirty degrees outside and I would undoubtedly freeze wearing my blue short sleeved blouse. The one thing that I hated more than rain and this stupid dumb ass town was to make decisions so I avoided them at all costs.

"BELLA! Are you up yet?" Leah yelled from down the hall. "I don't want to be late for first period. I want to make sure I get a good seat." Leah wasn't worried about being late; she just wanted to make sure that she grabbed the first seat next to Jake. I love Leah and she's the closest thing that I will ever have to a real sister, but she can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.

"YEA, I'LL BE RIGHT THERE." I screamed down the hall.

"You don't have to yell, I'm not deaf you know." She stated as she appeared in my doorway. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"Clothes. What? Did you want me to go to school naked?" I answered in my usual smart ass remark.

"No, but I thought that you were smart enough to dress for the occasion. In case you haven't noticed it's raining outside. You're going to freeze."

"Thanks for the weather report. I'm fine wearing this."

"Fine, suit yourself, but at least grab a sweater."

I grabbed the nearest jacket and put it over my blouse and headed out the door. "Bella do you have your keys." Leah asked as I strolled outside. I knew that I had forgotten something.

"One minute." I said as I turned around and headed back into our house. I looked on the counters, and on the key holding ring that we had hanging in our house, but they were not there. I was searching in between the couch cushions when I heard the door slam.

"Bella- what the hell is taking so long?"

"I can't find my car keys."

"That's fine, we'll take my car."

I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my truck behind. He and I had seen each other through everything. Everyone I knew thought that he was a piece of junk but I thought he was unique and matched my personality. Over the years he had become my better half, we were inseparable. "I'm not leaving him behind."

"Oh, for god's sake Bella, it is a car it doesn't care if you leave."

"Just go ahead without me. I'll be there in a little bit."

"Okay, but you better hurry; Charlie won't like it if you're late again," Leah stated and then she ran out the front door.

If I was car keys were would I hide? It had to be a random spot because I had looked everywhere else. Let's see the first thing I did yesterday when I got home was – "That's it." I said out loud reveling at my epiphany. I knew where my keys were and sure enough when I opened up the freezer they were sitting on the shelf sandwiched in between the frozen burritos and corn dogs.

My truck had a little trouble starting, "Come on Jimmy, baby, don't be like this. I stayed behind for you," I said as I laid my head on the steering wheel. Jimmy began to purr as the engine started up. "Thank you." I said and then I proceeded to drive to school. Jimmy liked to take things slow in our relationship so I never drove faster than 30 mph.

By the time I had reached the parking lot of Forks High School, I was already a half hour late for first. I debated whether or not to bother going, I hated walking in late, but at the same time I knew that Charlie would be hurt and disappointed if I didn't at least make an attempt to make it to all my classes. I waltzed into Mr. Peterson's science class and sure enough every eye was focused on me as I walked in. All of the seats in the back were taken and the only seat available was on the third row. I walked quickly hoping to get to my seat before I made a spectacle of myself. I tripped over Jessica's bag and landed on the hard concrete floor.

"Are you okay Bella? Do you need to go see the school nurse?" Mr. Peterson asked as Jessica and some of her other snooty friends began to snicker.

"No I'm fine," I said as I sat down at my desk. I looked over and there was a new boy that was sitting in the usually vacant seat. He was glaring at me with the most intense look on his face.

"Hi, I'm Bella. What's your name?" I whispered.

"You're bleeding," the mysterious stranger said with clenched teeth. He seemed to be gripping the sides of his chair.

"Are you okay?"

The stranger scooted as far away from me as he could get. I didn't understand his reaction, I knew I wasn't the most popular person in school, but I had never garnered this much anger and hostility from somebody before. The bell rang and he shot out of the class like a graceful bullet.

"Hey Bells, it was good of you to finally join us," Jacob said as he and Leah walked to my desk.

"Yeah, well Jimmy was being his usual stubborn self."

"You really need to trade it in for a newer model," Leah stated.

"Never, Jimmy's the only one for me."

"So Bella, what did you say to that new kid? He was shooting daggers at you all morning?" Jacob asked with a touch of concern in his voice. Jacob and I had been best buds since I was five years old and he always watched out for me like a faithful guard dog.

"I don't know. I just tried to introduce myself. That's all."

"Well if he gives you a hard time let me know. I got your back."

"It's all right Jacob, I'm sure he was just having a bad day." I said trying to make myself feel better as well as to appease Jacob. I found the new boy's reaction to me strange to say the least and it left me feeling unhinged and nervous. It had been a long time since I had let myself be affected by anything, but I had an unexplainable need to get to know everything I could about the new boy in school.

I went to lunch with Jacob and Bella and sat down with them. Across the cafeteria I saw the mysterious stranger that had taken hold of my thoughts. He was eating lunch with a blond haired girl whose beauty could not be explained, and a short brunette who smiled as soon as she laid eyes on me. Two other boys walked over to their group and joined them at their table.

"It looks like we have a bunch of new kids here," I stated to no one in particular.

"Those are the Cullens." Jessica chimed in. "They just moved here from Alaska. I heard that they were all adopted by some rich doctor who just got hired on at Forks General Hospital." Jessica loved to gossip so she was emphasizing every word enjoying being the center of attention. Normally I would ignore Jessica's incessant ramblings about the newest school gossip, but this was actually a subject I found myself to be intrigued by.

"What else have you heard about the Cullens?"

"Well you see the brunette, Alice, I think is her name, well anyways, she is involved with her adopted brother Jasper in some kind of incestuous relationship," she said as she looked over her shoulders.

I looked across the cafeteria and saw a boy with spiked up hair wrapping his arms around a pretty girl that I assumed was Alice by Jessica's description. They looked like a cute couple to me and it was obvious by the way that he was embracing her that he really cared about her. He looked at her like she was the center of his existence. "There not really brother and sister so it's not really incestuous," I said

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Jessica asked as she smirked at me. "Anyways, I find it to be absolutely disgusting and their not the only ones in that family involved in incestuous perversions."

"What do you mean?"

"You see that blond, her names Rosalie, and I heard that she too is involved with one of her adopted brothers."

"Which one?" I asked with abated breath.

"He's not here right now, but he's this big football looking type player. You'll know who I'm talking about when you see him he's practically a giant."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Do you know anything about him?" I asked as I tilted my head towards my mysterious stranger.

"I don't know much about that one. I think that his name is Edward and he seems to mostly keep to himself," Jessica stated obviously disappointed that she didn't have any more gossip about the Cullen family to share.

"Wow, Bella he seems to really be glaring at you. What did you do to earn that kind of attention from Edward?" She asked me.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Edward and I haven't even talked to each other," I said as I got up from the table. It was the truth even though Edward and I had sat next to each other for practically an hour, and I technically spoke with him, he obviously didn't have much to say to me.

After lunch, I stopped by the attendance office with a Dr. Pepper and a Snicker's bar hoping that Miss Summers was still there and hadn't had a chance to call Charlie yet. She was in her office with Edward so I sat and waited for her to become available. She hadn't bothered to close her door so I could hear every word of Edward's request. He wanted to transfer out of Mr. Peterson's science class.

"Why do you want to transfer?" I could hear Miss Summers asking.

"I can't say, but I have my reasons."

"Is somebody giving you a hard time? It will get easier it's only your first day."

"It's not that, it's just hard sitting in that class. I find the problem to be challenging." Edward stated as he looked in my direction.

"Well we can't transfer you just because you find the class to be difficult. If you have issues with the assigned work you can come by the resource center, we have excellent tutors that can help you if you're falling behind."

"Never mind, it's not that kind of problem." Edward said and then he got to his feet and ran past me.

It was obvious from their exchange that Edward didn't want to be anywhere near me. It seemed as if he was afraid of me, but I didn't know what I had done to make him so scared.

"Can I help you with something, Bella?" Miss Summers said interrupting my thoughts.

"I was wondering if you had already called Charlie about my tardy this morning," I stated flashing my best smile. Miss Summers seemed to have a soft spot when it came to me and I often worked her for my advantage.

"No Bella, I haven't called him yet. Why were you late this time?"

"I lost my car keys and then Jimmy needed a little smooth talking to get started."

"Jimmy?"

"My truck- Jimmy, he just needed a little push to get going this morning."

"Sounds like the typical guy." Miss Summers joked back.

"Anyways, I was hoping that you wouldn't have to call Charlie, if I promise to work extra hard on making it to my classes on time." I stated as I put the Dr. Pepper and the Snickers in front of Miss Summers. They were her favorite and although she was reasonable most of the time a little bribe wouldn't hurt anyone.

"I suppose, I don't have to call him this time, but Bella you have to work on being on time. I won't always be around to cover for you," she said in a half serious tone as she grabbed the drink and candy bar just as the bell rang for the next period to begin. "You better get going, Bella. You don't want to be late again."

"I'm on my way. Have a great night Miss Summers, "I said as I walked out of her office and proceeded to my next class.

I didn't see Edward for the rest of the school day. I had a couple of classes with Alice. In my math class she sat by me and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Alice, Edward's sister, but I'm sure you've already heard that."

"Hi, I'm –"

"Bella," She said interrupting, "I know everything that I need to know about you. You and I are going to be best friends, and don't worry about Edward. He's just scared, but he'll come around. Before you know it, you two will be inseparable."

I didn't know what to say to her. She seemed friendly enough, but how did she know that Edward and I was having problems. She just laughed at my quizzical look. Luckily the teacher began to speak and I didn't have to respond to Alice.

After school, Jimmy escorted me home without any major issues. When I walked into our living room Jake was sitting at the table while Leah was making them turkey sandwiches.

"Hey Bells, glad you made it home safely. Leah's making us sandwiches. She can make you one too if you want."

I let out a snicker because Leah gave me a look that I knew all too well. She was only making him a sandwich because she was crushing on him, but she hated that he automatically was offering her cooking services to me.

"No Jake, that's okay, I'm capable of making my own sandwich unlike you." I retorted.

"Oh yeah, you want to say that to my face."

"I believe I just did. What you going to do about it?" I said as I took the mayonnaise covered knife off of the counter and wiped it on his cheek.

"You're in for it now," he stated as he picked me up and carried me outside.

"Don't Jake. You wouldn't dare," I stated as he proceeded to drop me in the fluffy snow bank in our front yard.

"There, that should help you cool off," he stated with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"That's okay Jake, have your fun now, but you should know that payback's a bitch."

"Are you okay?" Leah asked from the door way.

"It's your turn Clearwater." Jake said as he grabbed Leah and spun her around in circles. When he set her on her feet again she fell down in the snow bank and he followed suit.

"Don't worry sis, I got your back," Leah stated as she grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it in Jake's face.

Jake then proceeded to gather his own snow in piles getting ready for war.

"Come on Bella, we can take Jake down."

I couldn't engage in the snow fight any longer, I had to go running and then start my homework and I was already a little behind schedule because of the unplanned afternoon fun. "I can't Leah, but you don't need my help, I'm sure you got it covered. Besides, girls rule and boys drool." I said in Jakes direction as he stuck out his tongue.

"Are you sure Bella?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go running, I should be back in an hour or so." I headed into the house to put on my workout clothes and grab my iPod.

I drove to Crystal Lake, that's where I liked to go jogging. I always found the scenery to be breathtakingly beautiful and there I could mix my two loves. I loved running and photography and if I hadn't of gotten in to that snow fight with Leah and Jake I could have caught the sun set. I tried to make it there every night. Charlie used to say to me that if you see the sun set once you didn't need to see it again because nothing ever changes. Charlie was smart but on this particular topic he didn't know what he was talking about. I had seen the sun set at least a thousand times over the mountain tops that surrounded Crystal Lake, but I could still come up with at least a dozen things that were different from each sunset. I found it uniquely breathtaking; the way that the hot flames of light would hit the clouds with just the right direction to display all different spectrums of colors. Then just like that the sun would be gone and the moon would rise to take his glorious place in the sky.

The moon was a particularly fascinating crescent tonight. I turned on my "Lincoln Park" and began to jog around the lake. My foot came in contact with a patch of black ice and down I went. The next thing I remembered is looking into Edward's blue eyes as he stared down at me. He must have laid his jacket over me, so I handed it back to him as I sat up. "Here, this must be yours." The back of my head was pounding but I didn't want to be more of an annoyance so I got up to my feet as soon as I could.

"You need to be more careful, Bella. It's dangerous out here at night. Who knows what kind of predators await in the woods?"

"You remembered my name."

"You're a hard one to forget. My name is Edward Cullen. My family just bought that house up there on the mountain side and I come here to clear my head. Then I saw you running and you looked so graceful, at least until you fell that is." He said with a tiny chuckle.

Edward's mood was so different from earlier today. He no longer seemed openly hostile, but genuinely concerned about my well being. In fact he was actually being nice to me. "Nice to meet you Edward, normally I come when there's more light and not as much ice on the ground. " I said in an attempt to explain away my klutziness.

"My father is a doctor. He can take a look at your head, if you would like."

"That's okay. I got to be getting home before Charlie starts to wonder where I am. I 'm sure I'm fine."

"You were unconscious so I really think that you should have your head looked at. You could have a concussion."

"No, I'm fine," I said displaying my best smile for him. "I've had worse falls, and I managed to survive them all. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," he said. I turned around and got inside my trusted truck and drove away. I looked behind me and there he stood in all his glory surrounded by the magnanimous mountains and the glacial lake. I actually looked forward to the morning and wondered which Edward would await me in first period.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I jolted awake to the alarm clock, but unlike yesterday, I wasn't annoyed. I actually looked forward to going to school. There was a chilly draft coming into my room.

"That's strange," I said as I noticed that my window was open. "I could have sworn that I shut it last night."

I looked out the window and I felt as if somebody was watching me. I should have felt paranoid or scared, but instead I felt an eerily calmness of peace and security as if I knew that I was being protected. Protected by what, I didn't know, but for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel alone.

I grabbed my set of clothes and headed into the bathroom to take a shower. I got ready for the day and then proceeded to head downstairs where the smell of bacon and pancakes awaited me.

"Hey Bells, have a seat, breakfast will be ready in a little bit," Charlie stated as I walked into our kitchen."

"You cooked," I said eyeing the food with suspicion.

"Don't worry Bells, Leah did the cooking and I supervised."

"Come on Bella, do you really think that I would let Charlie cook for us?" Leah asked as she came around the corner and sat down at the table.

"That's good Charlie, because even though I love you, I wouldn't touch your food if my life depended on it."

"Me either," Charlie stated and then we all laughed.

We sat down at the breakfast table and had breakfast as a family. It was good to see Charlie, he had been working a lot of double shifts and I hadn't seen him in a while.

After breakfast, I got up and began to clear the table. "You don't have time for that Bells, I got it. You girls are going to be late for school if you don't get a move on."

I grabbed my keys, and Leah and I headed out the door. Jimmy was extra sweet to me today; he started up right away and didn't give me any attitude. I had a feeling that today was going to be a good day.

Leah and I walked into Mr. Peterson's Science class. Jake had saved Leah and me a seat by him. I scanned the room and was disappointed when I realized that Edward wasn't there. My disappointment hit me hard; he said he would be here. I was hurt and hoped that his absence had nothing to do with me. He was so different last night, not cold and distant the way that he had been before, and I foolishly let myself believe that Edward had gotten over whatever it was about me that set him off.

Leah and I sat down next to Jacob and I tried to listen to Mr. Peterson's lesson, but my thoughts turned to Edward. I wondered where he was and what he was doing. I convinced my self that he was sick, and that was why he was gone and that tomorrow he would be here and everything would be better. My thoughts quickly turned into fantasies about being alone with Edward, as Mr. Peterson, rambled on monotonously in the background. In my fantasy, I would bring Edward some soup and he would answer the door in nothing but a towel. His hair would be spiked and the water drops would glisten off of his ripped chest. In that moment, he would be so happy to see me that he would pick me up and spin me around, until we would topple over from dizziness. I found myself on top of Edward and we were so close, I leaned in to give him a kiss.

"Bella? Did you hear what I asked you?" Mr. Peterson asked, bringing me back to reality as I heard kids snickering around me.

"What? I'm sorry, could you repeat the question?" I asked, feeling mortified. I hoped that the class didn't know or that I hadn't said anything to give the impression that my mind was on Edward, and not on whatever, it was that Mr. Peterson was trying to teach us.

"I asked you if you could explain what the difference between an atom and a nucleus was for the class."

"I'm sorry, I don't know. " I explained as even more giggles came from the background.

"Can anyone else explain for Miss Bella, what the difference is?" Jessica raised her hand and began to answer the question, as I slumped down in my chair.

"Bella, are you feeling okay? You look all flushed and disoriented," Leah whispered.

"Yeah, I'm just having a hard time concentrating today," I whispered back.

"Bella, I saved you a seat," Alice informed me as soon as I walked into Math class. "Don't worry about Edward, you'll see him soon," Alice whispered to me as soon as I took my seat.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm positive that you will see Edward tonight."

I liked Alice, but she was hard to figure out sometimes, but then again so was Edward. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Edward was having an off day and thought it best that he stay home."

"What?"

"You were going to ask me why Edward wasn't at school, right?"

"Yeah, but how did you know I was going to ask that."

"I know things. It's part of my charm." Alice stated and then flashed one of her smiles, as if she was posing for the cover of some fashion magazine.

I was glad that school was over and I got in my jogging clothes. I decided that I would jog around the lake, hoping that Alice had been right and that Edward would show up. I felt a need to see him, to see if he was okay. My Edward obsession was throwing me off of my routine. Normally I wouldn't go jogging until I finished my homework. I sat down to do it, but I couldn't focus and found my thoughts turning to Edward. The sooner I went jogging, the sooner the possibility that I would see Edward, and if I didn't see him then hopefully I could concentrate on my work ahead of me knowing that Alice had been wrong.

I was done jogging and still no Edward. I was debating on whether or not I should take another lap around the lake when a car pulled into the parking lot. I stayed hoping that Edward was here. I was wrong. Three boys got out of the car and I could smell the alcohol coming off of them. When the last boy got out of the car he brought out a bottle of Vodka and handed it to one of the other boys.

"What do you want to do tonight, Eddie? I'm bored," I heard one of the boys ask.

"Don't worry, I have a feeling that our night is about to become more interesting," one of the other boys, possibly Eddie, said as he motioned in my direction.

I began to get uncomfortable; they were all glaring at me like I was their dinner. I turned around and started jogging in the other direction.

"Hey what's your name?" I could hear one of them asking as I tried my best to ignore them. "You're not scared of us are you?"

I turned around to face them. "No, I'm just tired, and want to get home."

"Oh, it's early out and we could have a lot of fun together,"

"I think I'll pass."

"Eddie, she thinks she's too good for us."

"No, I don't I'm just tired. It has been a long night and I need to get going," I said and then I turned around and started jogging again.

They were following behind me so I picked up the pace into a full run. I got to the other parking lot on the other side of the lake when the same car pulled up blocking my entrance. I realized then that the third boy hadn't followed me. He must have gotten back in the car. I started to panic realizing that my exit was blocked. I felt trapped like helpless prey that was just about to be caught by the hunters.

The other boys had caught up to me now. I turned around to face them, "what do you want from me?"

"Oh honey, we just want to show you a good time. We'll make you feel better, we promise."

"Just leave me alone."

"I can't do that, I promised my boys a good night tonight and I always keep my promises. You wouldn't want to make me look bad," Eddie said as he brushed his hand against my cheek.

"Go to hell," I said.

I tried to break out of the circle that they had formed around me. One of the boys grabbed me so I elbowed his side and tried my best to get out of his tight grip. I couldn't get away he was too strong, there were too many of them. I fought as hard as I could but it wasn't enough. They wrestled me to the ground and I was screaming as loud as I could, hoping that there would be somebody else there. It was cold out and it had begun to snow, so I feared that there would be no one around to hear my screams.

Two of the boys held my arms down while Eddie took off one of his gloves and shoved it in my mouth.

"That will keep you quiet, don't worry. I'll be gentle," he said as he begun to unbutton his pants.

I kept fighting as he lowered himself on me. I panicked as he reached his hands and begun to unbutton my pants. "I got it from here boys, let go of her arms, I want to hold her down. It adds a certain amount of excitement, don't you think."

The boys let go of my arms and there had been a second of freedom. Eddie had managed to grab one of my hands and pin it down, but I swung with the other hand towards his face. I jammed my fingers into his eye as hard as I could. Eddie let out a cry of pain and rolled off of me, releasing my other hand. I sat up trying to get to my feet, but one of the other boys came and pushed me back down onto the ground. The last thing I remembered about that night was hearing a loud thud, searing pain and then darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I woke up confused and disoriented. I was no longer by the lake but was instead in my warm bed, safe and sound, at home. I had no memory of how I ended back in my bedroom. I sat up and was startled that I wasn't alone. Edward was sitting in a chair facing my bed. He was staring at me with a look of concern. Did he show up at the lake and save me? Did he take me home? How did he know where I lived? I was filled with questions, but was lacking the ability to give my questions a voice. I stared at him, pleading with my eyes for an explanation.

"How? What? I don't understand." I finally managed to say.

Edward didn't say anything; the look on his face suddenly changed from a look of concern to a look of panic as the sun came shining into my room. He quickly darted out the side window and was gone with no explanation of what had happened. I got up and looked in my mirror to see what kind of damage had been done. I had a bandage slightly above my left eye where there appeared to be cuts and bruising. I had a bump on the back of my head and the worst headache.

I was so irritated that Edward had left. I needed answers about last night. I didn't know what those guys had done to me? Was I raped before Edward had shown up? I wanted to go to school and confront him, but I was afraid to leave the shelter that my bedroom provided me.

I got up and took a shower, I felt dirty and I just wanted to wash off those boys unwanted touches. I heard a knock on my bedroom door so I got out of the shower and put on my robe.

"Hey Bella, Jake's going to give us a ride to school today, do you want to…" Leah was calling from outside my door and stopped mid sentence when I opened it and she saw me.

"Bells, what happened?" Jake asked as he and Leah came into my room.

I felt ashamed, Jake was my best friend and Leah was like a sister to me, but I couldn't tell them about last night. I didn't want anyone to know, it was bad enough that Edward knew or was there, at least I think he was there. If I told Leah and Jake, the news would get back to Charlie, and I definitely didn't want him knowing. If I was raped, he would blame himself for not protecting me enough, I couldn't deal with his blame; I was having a hard enough time not blaming myself.

"I tripped and hit my head on a rock," I lied, "I think that I am going to skip out on school today. I'm not feeling up to it."

"I'm not buying it. I know you well enough to know that you're lying," Jake said.

Dam Jake and his instincts, I just wanted to crawl into a dark hole and never come out again, but he knew me too well and I should have known that he wouldn't buy my lame excuse.

"Just leave it alone, Jake," I said as I glared at him. I wasn't ready to talk about it and I needed him to give me space.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that, you're my friend and you've obviously been hurt. I want you to tell me what happened so that I can track down the bastard that hurt you and kill him."

"Who said that anybody hurt me?"

"I'm not dumb Bella; the bruises on your neck were left by somebody's fingerprints. Please tell me what happened," Jake pleaded with me.

I wanted to confide in him, like I always had a thousand times, but this was different and I didn't want him to know, so I came up with another explanation, one that was closer to the truth.

"You're right Jake, last night in the park, I was mugged. I didn't see who did it, they were wearing masks."

"Why didn't you just tell us the truth?"

"Because I didn't want you to make a big deal out of it. I'm fine. I'll be fine. You guys are late, you should get going."

"Do you want us to stay here with you?" Leah asked as she came and sat down by me.

"No, it's not necessary. I'm still tired and I'm going to go back to bed anyways."

"Okay, whatever you want. Let's go Jake," Leah said as she got up and tugged Jake away.

I laid in bed and tried to fall asleep, but I kept replaying what happened in the park. I tried not to think about it and to focus on other things but my mind kept going over every detail. There was a knock on the door; I ignored it the first time wanting to be left alone, but the person on the other end just kept on knocking. Charlie most likely was at work still, so I finally got up and answered the door to find Alice.

"Sorry about the incessant knocking. I know that you want to be alone, but Edward wanted me to stay with you and you really shouldn't be alone right now," Alice said as she walked into my house.

"What did Edward tell you about last night?" I asked starting to get angry. The last thing that I needed was Edward talking about my private business without talking to me first.

"He didn't tell me anything. He didn't have to. I told you, I see things, and when I saw what those boys were planning on doing to you, I told Edward as fast as I could. I'm only sorry that I didn't see it earlier. Last night was wrong, something shifted, your future has been altered, and I can't see how exactly but something's been changed," Alice rambled on as she paced around my living room in a frantic panic.

"Alice, I don't know what you're talking about," I said exasperated.

"When you decided to change you're schedule and leave earlier then you had originally planned you altered the track that you were on. I knew that something was off, I could feel it, but I couldn't see it until Eddy and the boys planned on driving to the lake and then I saw it. I saw how your tracks would collide. My visions are hard to control. They have a mind of their own. I don't choose when or what I am going to see. Sometimes I have a lot of time to change things, and sometimes I see things too late and it's impossible for me to stop the vision from becoming reality. I'm sorry Bella, last night, I saw things too late. I tried to help but I failed, it was just too late."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked as I sat down on my couch feeling confused and exhausted. I knew that Alice was trying to tell me something important, but nothing made sense.

"Edward doesn't want me to tell you, but you have a right to know. Last night I saw things too late, Edward was too late. You were raped."

I felt like I was submerged in water. The sound in the room was altered, distant, and the air seemed non existent. I could hear myself gasping for air. I was having a panic attack; I used to have them all the time when I was younger, before I had set up my routine and gained my control.

"Are you okay Bella? Do you need me to get you a glass of water?" I could hear Alice asking.

"Music on," I mumbled in between breaths. I knew that it probably sounded incoherent, but I was having difficulty focusing long enough to articulate an intelligent sentence. Alice thankfully understood what I was trying to say and turned on my radio. The familiar music of "Debussy" played as I slowly managed to calm myself down. I curled up on the couch as I could feel my breathing return back to normal. Alice sat down on the floor by my head and started to stroke my hair. It was such a comforting gesture, something that my mother used when I was little and was too afraid to sleep. I missed my mother, I wished that she was here with me now, but she wasn't, she couldn't be. Alice began to hum along to the music and I could feel myself drifting to sleep.

When I woke up, I was no longer in the living room I was in my bedroom, on my bed. I wondered how I had gotten up here and couldn't figure out a possible explanation for how a tiny, small girl like Alice could carry me to my room. I sat up trying to regain my senses. I must have slept for hours, the sun was no longer shining in my room and it was darker now, but not too dark for me to notice him sitting in the chair watching me.

"Edward, what are you doing here?" I asked as I sat up.

"I came back to check up on you. How are you doing?"

"How do you think I'm doing? You left this morning without providing an explanation. I needed answers from you Edward, if you were so concerned, why didn't you stay then?"

Edward got up off the chair and began to pace around my room. "It wasn't safe for me to stay with you earlier today. I came back as soon as I could."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked beginning to show my irritation. Edward could be so infuriating. He had a tendency to talk in riddles and it was next to impossible to figure out what he was saying. Edward was speaking English, but it felt like there was a language barrier between us.

"There are things about me that you don't know, things I couldn't even begin to tell you about. In all honesty, we shouldn't be friends. I should leave and never come back."

"Then why don't you go if that's what you want. I didn't invite you here in the first place."

"Because Bella I don't want to leave, that's the problem. I should stay away from you but I can't."

"Edward, what happened last night? How did I end up back in my room? How did you know where I lived?"

Edward came and sat down by me on the bed. "I showed up and scared those guys away," he said as he cleared his throat, "You were unconscious so I stayed by your side until you woke up then I walked you back here. You didn't want me to leave so I stayed until morning."

"You're lying," I said as I shook my head in disgust.

"Why do you think I'm lying?"

"I don't remember walking home last night. The last thing that I remember is that bastard on top of me. So if everything happened the way you said it happened, how come I have no memories of it?"

"I don't know Bella. You hit your head, maybe you had a concussion and that's why your memories of last night differ from mine.

"Bella?" I heard Charlie calling from downstairs.

"I'll be down in a minute," I called. "Stay here Edward, we can finish talking when I get back," I said as I headed down the stairs.

"Hey Charlie, how was work?" I asked coming into the kitchen.

"Work was - " Charlie stopped midsentence when he noticed the bruises on my face, "Bells, what happened?"

"Last night I was jogging and I was ra- mugged," I said deciding to stick to the story that I had already told Jacob. Part of me wanted to tell Charlie the truth, but I couldn't say the words.

"Why didn't you tell me last night when you got home?"

I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't have an explanation for Charlie.

"I think that you should come with me to the station and I can have another officer take your statement." Charlie stated going into instant cop mode.

"Was there something that you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked hoping to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, I just wanted to tell you that I don't want you to go jogging around the lake anymore. I want you to find a safer path."

"Why? What happened?" I asked.

"We found the bodies of three men in the woods by the lake this morning."

"Oh?" I asked fearing that the men in the woods were the same guys who had hurt me? Did Edward hurt them back?

"It looks like some wild animal tore them to pieces. So I don't want you to go out there anymore."

"I won't Charlie. I'll stay by the house. I'm going to go to bed now." I said as I headed up the stairs.

"Good night Bells, I'll see you in the morning."

I walked into my room fully prepared to have it out with Edward. I needed to know what happened. I was filled with questions and I needed answers, but my room was empty. There was no trace of Edward I was all alone. Tomorrow I would corner Edward and he would tell me the truth.


End file.
